‘Signed, Sealed, and Undelivered’

Recipients of letters had to pay in order to collect their letters.
Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague

‘Signed, Sealed, and Undelivered’

About 2,600 undelivered letters (including 600 that have never even been opened) have recently come to the attention of researchers in Boston and beyond.

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

The messages are now being analyzed and cataloged as part of a project, “Signed, Sealed, and Undelivered.”

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

The letters are known as the “Brienne Collection” and they all come from the years 1689-1707.

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

During this time period, Simone de Brienne and his wife, Maria Germain, were postmasters in The Hague, Netherlands.

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

At the time, postal routes were privately controlled and a lucrative business.

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

In one ranking, Brienne is listed as the 203d richest man in the Dutch Republic.

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

Recipients of letters had to pay in order to collect their letters.

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

There were all manner of reasons delivery would fail. Recipients might have moved, died, or gone to prison. Or they might have looked at the sender and decided the letter wasn’t worth the stuivers. Or the sender might not have given the postal service quite enough to go on.

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

Brienne held onto the undelivered letters, calling them his “piggybank,” in the hope that he might one day find paying recipients.

Museum voor Communicatie, The Hague
| December 8, 2015

Some letters contain requests for employment or frustration with uncommunicative relatives. All of these letters, however, fell on deaf ears, many never being opened until today.